This is My Story & I'm Sticking to It

On Friday, I drove to Sioux Falls to go to the dentist. As I get older, I resent going to the dentist more and more - probably because more and more needs to be done. Rather than go into details, suffice it to say I thought I'd reward myself after by picking up a couple cards of reinforcement thread for sock toes at Athena Fibers. (The reinforcement thread is the charcoal-colored cards at the bottom of the photo.) I was just at Athena Fibers a couple weeks ago and only one type of sock yarn appealed to me, so I really thought I'd be safe going in to get the reinforcement thread. Well, they must have received a couple shipments in the meantime because there was all kinds of gorgeous sock yarn there and brands I'd only read about on the internet. I decided to reward myself. Afterall, I'd taken a last minute cancellation at the dentist's office, got up an hour earlier than usual to get to Sioux Falls in time to take it and I didn't have any cavities. I deserved it. So instead of just the reinforcment thread (at $2.75 a card) I added Trekking Handpaint, some Happy Feet and the new Nashua Handknits sock yarn designed by Kristin Nichols. Oh, and then there's the ball of Crazy yarn by Schoppenwolle. I'm sure these are all going to be put to use in the 52 Pair Plunge III, so stay tuned!

Speaking of which, I finally charted out my socks and the Trekking Handpainted Broken Rib Socks is/are Pair No. 18 (so I can count, thank you very much!) The unsure kitty below with the sock monolith is Hans.

Also, off the needles this week is the Mr. Greenjeans Sweater and I finally fulled the Knit One Below-style bag. I also finished carding Pokey, the alpaca fleece.



Currently, on the needles is Pair No. 19 in the 52 Pair Plunge III, a pair of Cabled Socks - which are in the blue colorway I've used repeatedly recently, so I didn't photograph the work in progress.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: I've finishing a number of audiobooks and regular books lately.

Book No. 36: The Bone Vault, by Linda Fairstein. I've seen a lot of her books in the stores, but had never read or listened to one. I really liked the main character of this one, Alex Cooper, but unfortunately, the audio version was abridged and left me with more questions than answers. I do know, however, I will try another one of Fairstein's books.

Book No. 37: The Long Fall, by Walter Moseley. Moseley is one of my favorites and this book only reinforced that. He introduces a new character a middle-aged, sort-of retired boxer who works as private eye in New York. One of the aspects of Moseley's work to date is that it takes place in the mid-20th century Los Angeles - an era which has always held a fascination for me. I quickly discovered that aspect was not why I enjoy his books, it's the great characters and the not so idyllic private lives of his main characters. Outstanding.

Book No. 38: Spirit Sickness, by Kirk Mitchell. I just finished the unabridged audible.com version within the hour. Unless I'm driving alone, I rarely get through a recorded book this quickly. If I don't get much done this weekend, it's because I've been so wrapped up in this book, I couldn't get to it. Anna Turnipseed and Emmit Parker are searching for Gila Monster on the Navajo reservation. I'm afraid to say anything more because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Another outstanding book.

Greta & Hans: We're finally getting back to our usual routine around here. We're all catching up on our sleep now that Greta is back to normal. Her illness was particularly hard on Hans, who sat by her without much sleep while she was so ill. Thanks to everyone who wrote to check up on her!


Hans (on the top step) Greta (on the couch)